Ward 3 City Councilor Melvin Edwards has won the endorsement of the Mass Sierra Club in the Sept. 6 Democratic primary for the Hampden state Senate seat, where he’ll face incumbent Sen. Jim Welch.
Among Edwards’ pro-environmental credentials: he has been one of the most vocal opponents of the wood-burning power plant proposed in East Springfield and filed a City Council resolution in support of extended producer responsibility policies, which call on companies to handle the disposal and recycling of their products. He’s also president of the nonprofit Keep Springfield Beautiful.
The Sierra Club announced 70 other endorsements in state and national races last week. The group’s picks included U.S. Rep. Richie Neal, for the 1st Congressional District, and Elizabeth Warren for Senate. Click here for the entire list.
In other news, could a casino be headed to the South End? Pete Goonan reports today in the Republican that MGM Resorts has been eyeing the area. That sent me scrambling to see what South Ender Bill Dusty, of the Springfield Intruder, had to say on the matter—only to find that Dusty’s on vacation this week (although before he left, he did raise a well-justified eyebrow at the notion of the Republican staying “neutral” on the matter while its property is being considered as a potential site).
Dusty may be off this week, by Matt Szafranski isn’t, and today his Western Mass Politics and Insight offers this interesting take on Ward 7 Councilor Tim Allen’s successful effort to reopen closed library branches through the trash fee, the resulting controversy and the bigger questions that remain about the future of city’s library system.
